Chapter 3. Common Native Grasses of the Northern Midwest
3.5 Lake sedge, hairy sedge
Carex lacustris
Cool season; Perennial
Characteristics: 1–4’; open upright; foliage green; flowers yellow-green
Growing Conditions: moist to wet soils; full sun to heavy shade; standing water tolerant; hardy zones 3–7
Lake sedge is a colony-forming sedge with strong rhizomes. For this reason, it is good for stabilizing river banks and lake shores, but may be aggressive.
Nativars:
No nativars are currently available. The plant is not widely available, but can be found at native garden centers.
Associated Lepidoptera:
Species that feed on lake/hairy sedge according to the literature are Dion skipper (Euphyes dion), Dukes’ skipper (Euphyes dukesi), sedge witch (Euphyes vestris), marsh eyed brown (Satyrodes eurydice), Appalachian brown (Satyrodes appalachia), and broad-winged skipper (Poanes viator).
A cultivar of a native plant.
The order that includes butterflies and moths.